Still Waiting for Spring

The lettuce has come and gone is my hydroponic planter and I'm now growing basil, dill and parsley.
I've already clipped the dill back once to add to a cream of broccoli soup. And may start using some of the basil soon for a bit of Italian cooking.

As you can see out the window over my work area it will be a while yet before I plant anything outdoors. Believe it or not they've got snow in the forecast for later this week!

Gotta get some use out of the garden catalogs that keep popping out of my mailbox so I've been using them to improve my drawing and watercolor painting skills.

This photo the catalog clipping is at the top, with my watercolor below it and a marker drawing on the envelope. When the card is folded the catalog picture will be on the back of it.

The Thaw Sets In

Just as I was beginning to think winter would never end a bit of a thaw has set in along with stacks of garden catalogs arriving so it's a good time to start thinking about this years garden.

Somehow I get the impression that the birds are thinking about this too.

Painting this simple card and envelope design just felt like spring. I'll be attaching a photo to the center of the card so that's why it's just a border.

I even get ideas from the junk mail as I grabbed a few markers to think about this design seen on a clothing companies envelope.

It's such a simple design that I think it will work well in watercolor too.

Minnesota Garden Reality

A playground ball
Falling branches
Brown Grass
Snow tonight

For days the TV news has been talking about the first day of spring but in Minnesota the only place I'm having spring is is my mailbox. Most of the week I'd been drawing and painting sunflowers, roses and Iris.
Yesterday I went for tulips and daffodils in colored pencil. I don't include pictures of most of them because it's pretty much the same old thing. New ideas and subjects should appear soon.

Egg money

It was evening when I hit this point so it's difficult to get good pictures. I'll make another try in daylight.

I'll be adding more design to the large center egg but not until I put it in my Zazzle store. That way I can add text to it or people can personalize products.

When the painting is finally completed it will be displayed and listed for sale. Wish me Luck!

Setting Goals for spring designs

I had started a background for a landscape sometime last year and thought it might be a good start for my Easter egg hunt painting.

I'm a bit rusty with my sky and cloud technique but can rework areas of that later if it needs it.  I doubt people will notice it much after I get the wild designs and florals painted on the eggs anyway.

The basic goals of this painting are:
1. increase my sales on Zazzle
2. use this canvas panel in a good way
3. practice painting flowers and other designs
4. hang the painting at the senior center as part of the march decorations
5. sell the painting when everyone is finished with it
6. use the cash to buy art supplies for a "real" painting (the things I love to do but don't sell)

Signs of Spring

The snow is still with us but there's warmth and a hint of color here and these to give us hope and the sun felt so good as I changed the water in the bird bath and checked the feeders that I couldn't resist pulling a bit of the lawn furniture out today.

In this part of the country we just enjoy the warm spots when we find them. People driving by seemed quite entertained by the fact that I was running around without a coat in the middle of all of this and stepping around snow banks to get the long shot you see in the middle photo.